4 Stars Plus!

The beauty in this book is not in the writing but in the passion and heart of the author, Julia Butterfly Hill. Just when I was ready to give up hope about humanity, I found this book.

I was busy raising 4 little kids when Julia was living in the tree, but I vaguely remember through sleep-deprivation hearing about her and wondering how in the world she was doing it.

Now I know.

It was HARD! But Julia's dedication to her principles left me feeling hopeful and inspired.
Read this. Give it to your friends and your kids and talk about it.

Beautiful story and incredible woman

genuinely such a wonderful read. i loved julia & luna’s story and thought the book was an exceptional way to provide julia’s whole story from being up in the tree. really a moving and inspirational book that was easy to digest and understand, but covers some really critical facts about logging and sustainable forestry. cried at the end :)

A first-person true story of a woman who climbed into a thousand year old tree in the late 90s slated for logging … and lived there for two years until the logging company agreed not to chop it down. Despite the trumpet flourish at the end this isn’t an inspiring story – it’s a devastating one. A portrait of a century-old trust-based organization getting bought out by a stealthy junk bondsman who discovered it’s much more profitable to endlessly break laws – such as those against clear-cutting and replacing old growth forests – and just pay the fines which add up to pennies on the dollar of profits. Limp laws, toothless politicians, and corporate intimidation add up to a crucible of growth for Julia – but at an enormous price. Her descriptions of climbing up and living in the tree are so vivid you’ll feel like you’re in Ewok Village with her. A deep connection to nature – flying squirrels, black bears, lightning strikes and more. For me the book gave a nice escape from “today” and a connection to the larger energy I think many of us need to tap into right now. Highly recommended.

Julia Butterfly Hill demonstrates pure conviction to saving Luna the Redwood tree. She is to be admired for not backing down in what she believes in. I so remember when this story takes place. Having lived in Humboldt County for 5 years I saw the devastation the lumber companies did to the Redwood forests. The Pacific Lumber Company had no regard for what they were doing nor did they care how they impacted communities in the area of clear cutting. Too bad more people didn't feel the way Julia did. If they did we would still have old growth forests and we would be better off because of it.

I'm really torn on this one. The writing was... just okay and there were some annoying editing flaws that made the book feel very unpolished. The story itself had some really good parts with discussion on how people in power and with money negotiate and lobby to get everything they want while appearing to compromise, but everything else was just ungrounded.

Even though she got an honorary degree in environmental studies...she still seemed really uneducated on the history of environmental policy and how things actually get done through the government and activism. Obviously, what she did was incredible and took amazing willpower and stamina, but her cause was ultimately selfish and without direction or forethought for the bigger picture, and I think the end result shows that. She saved her tree, but I can't help but wonder if she couldn't have done more had she actually worked with the groups supporting her instead of stubbornly doing everything her way based on her feelings alone.

Also, this was a bit too hippy dippy even for me (lots of praying to the great creation source, Creator, and universal spirit). Honestly, her ability to find strength through prayer and meditation is probably why she was able to live in a tree for 2 years without touching ground, but it also made the story completely focused on her and her struggles and less on forest-activism at large and all the hard work that was being done on the ground. I wish there had been more of that story to share here, but she wasn't really involved with any of that and she did things her own way. Again, it was effective, but I also can't help but think ot isnt the best way to reach a goal (it certainly isn't a sustainable way).

I probably would have loved this and completely admired her if I had read this when I was 14... but now she just comes across as uncooperative and potentially harmful to the larger cause since not everyone can do what she did, it sets a poor precedent...

«the trees in the storm dont try to stand up straight and tall and erect. they allow themselves to bend and be blown with the wind. they understand the power of letting go.
those trees and those branches that try too hard to stand up strong and straight are the ones that break. now is not the time for you to be strong, julia, or you, too, will break. let if flow. let it go. that is the way you are going to make it through this storm. and that is the way to make it through the storms of life»

muy lindo e inspirador, desde pequeña que admiro a las personas que entregan gran esfuerzo por la preservación de la naturaleza y de animales (vidas que no son capaces de defenderse por sí solas frente a la opresión humana). desde niña que le guardo gran respeto a los árboles longevos como son los secuoyas, por lo que esta historia me generó una cálida sensación dentro de mi corazón. las reflexiones que hace Julia durante el libro resuenan mucho con lo que pasa por mi mente cada vez que paso tiempo inmersa en la naturaleza, pero que con facilidad suelo olvidar cuando estoy atrapada en mi rutina cotidiana.

This novel provides an autobiography of Julia Hill, and her experience living in a redwood tree for TWO YEARS. At first I thought it would be dull- how could I read a story about a woman living in a tree? I was quickly hooked to this book though. What makes it really fascinating is that Julia wasn’t your typical environmentalist. In fact, until she sat in the tree, she wasn’t an environmentalist at all (she was a business major-gasp!). The Legacy of Luna also points out that the traditional trees vs. jobs problem is nothing more than a myth and the real culprits are the big corporations and executives who believe in killing trees rather than practicing sustainable forestry. This novel is both inspiring and eye opening.

I love this story and never get tired of it.

⭐️ 3,8
No le daría el 4 porque en realidad, más allá de la mitad del libro, me ha costado mucho leerlo.
Pero qué locura.
Lo primero qué barbaridad que estas cosas pasen y ni se sepan. He preguntado a mi familia si recordaban que se hablara de esto en las noticias (ya que yo era muy pequeña) y no. Tampoco en el cole nos hablaron de ellos. Y es algo tan horrible y a la vez tan increíble por parte de la activista… que cuesta mucho creer que sea cierto.
Todo el mundo debería conocer esta historia.
No le doy más nota ya que la manera en la que está escrito no me ha terminado de enganchar a partir de la mitad, pero lo que cuenta es imprescindible!

3.5
This is a very airy-fairy book - the author is always talking about the power of creation's life force, or prayer, or something - and it's not the best written... but it's still a really compelling story, and she's obviously very dedicated to a great cause, so massive respect.

I liked how she got into the day to day minutiae of living in the tree, and also how she tried to humanise the loggers a bit. She was quite out of touch at times - it made me laugh when she gifted the CEO of the logging company a magic crystal. I also had a chuckle when she said people told her she smelled, "sweet, like a redwood", after 18 months in the tree.

I was saddened by the vandalism in the end, but much heartened to learn that Luna has since survived!

I remember when I first heard about the woman who lived in a tree for two years. Before I read the book, that line 'the woman called Butterfly who lived in a tree for two years' was a story I told. This story touched my heart completely.